1984 5.7L Alpha One outdrive leaking drive oil around drive shaft

[tfret]

I wasn't sure how to search for this. While winterizing my 1984 5.7L Alpha One today, I noticed distinctive green outdrive gear lube oozing into the bilge from the drive shaft hole in the transom. I'm guessing I have a drive seal leaking that requires replacement? Surely someone has seen this before. Could you please point me in the right direction?

 

[achris]

Scroll down to the last post...

http://forums.iboats.com/mercruiser...rives/od-presure-test-524743.html#post3556520

 

[Lincoln253]

I actually just repaired a alpha one a couple weeks ago on a bayliner Capri with that exact same problem. If u pull the drive off and pull the gears its a pretty easy fix. Save yourself some money and order the whole seal kit it was about $36 if I remember.... Be careful when you pull the drive off because with that seal leaking, the bellow will be full of gear oil and will get messy very fast, if u have any questions let me know

 

[Lincoln253]

I have about 7 pictures of what to expect...if u want I can email me too Ya

 

[tfret]

sadly a virus wiped out my hard drive a couple years ago and I lost my Mercruiser manuals. Could someone please direct me to a procedure or scan the manual pages that describe how to go about making this repair?

 

[Lincoln253]

http://www.glmmarine.com/pdf/MerCruiser_Catalog.pdf

 

[Lincoln253]

If u were going to do the gimbal bearing than U should have no problems doing the shaft seal its actually a pretty easy and quick repair to do just based off looking at the diagrams

 

[tfret]

Thanks for the parts manual Lincoln253. It gives me the part numbers and some very good diagrams. I have another problem in that I don't know my drive serial number. I know it's not original to the boat, and the ratio appears to be 2:1 like that of a four cylinder. The stick on serial number plaque is missing. Is there some way to confirm what series the drive is so that I order to correct parts?

 

[achris]

Yes. To identify the drive, go up into DonS 'sticky' section and have a look at his 'drive info' section. All you need to nail it down to the correct model is there.

Chris........

 

[ktbarrentine]

Here is the location for online OEM service manuals (this comes from the stickies the Achris talks about)

http://boatinfo.no/lib/library.html#

http://forums.iboats.com/forum/engi...miscellaneous-mercruiser-information?t=329915

Good luck!!!

 

[thumpar]

Have the bellows ever leaked? If they have there could be rust on the shaft that tore up the seal. Make sure you check it.

 

[tfret]

Thanks for the links to the drive info and manuals. This will certainly come in handy. Actually for the seal kit I guess the serial isn't that important as long as it's the right series drive. To answer thumper's questions, yes, the bellows did leak and was replaced a few years ago. I had the work done at a local shop and they told me they lubricated everything well before reassembly. But yes that could have caused the seal to fail. I had a copy of the Alpha One drive manual on my PC at work. It looks fairly straight forward to disassemble the upper drive shaft assembly in order to replace the oil seal. But it looks like the manual calls for using a special tool to remove the U joint bearing retainer. Obviously I don't have this tool. Is it at all possible to do the job without out?

 

[bspeth]

The wrench was only 30 bucks online,no need to do it without.

 

[tfret]

Ordered the seal kit and mounting kit today. Apparently there are two different seal kits for Alpha One drives. Before or after 1983. Not knowing which drive I have I ordered both.

 

[ktbarrentine]

Not knowing which drive I have I ordered both.

Unfortunate to see you having to buy "extra" parts that probably wont fit.... But if you can return them unopened without a restocking fee, then I guess it is ok. If you use the links for the mercruiser information we have provided in previous posts, you will be able to determine exactly which drive you have so you can get just the right parts. Are you still having problems identifying your drive?

 

[achris]

The only difference that would matter to service is the water pump base. Apart from the water pump base gasket and 'O' ring, all other service items are the same. That includes all the seals and 'O' rings in the top box, and the rest of the seals and 'O' rings in the bottom box.... And I believe most of the lower box seal kits actually come with gaskets and 'O' ring for both variants.

 

[tfret]

Yes, I did figure out from the documentation that I have the post 1982 Alpha One. The pre 1983 have the hoist hook on top. I was in a rush to get the parts I needed coming so I ordered both kits. We're talking about $5 so it's no big deal. Ordered the spanner wrench as well. Probably only use it once but at least I have it. I hope to crack into it this weekend if the tool and parts arrive in time. I'll update once I get into it.

 

[tfret]

Well the seal kit I ordered on Monday still hasn't arrived, so I won't be able to complete the repair this weekend unfortunately. The drive came off rather easily. Got the of gasket off. U joints look good. Lubed them really well. Used my newly purchase spanner wrench to take out the bearing assembly. It all looks like new amazingly enough. Looking ahead at the instruction, it says while reassembling the upper drive bearing set, to put a large hose clamp around the spacer ring in the middle. But it doesn't make clear why to do this. I don't understand this step or how it helps with anything. Can someone explain this to me?

 

[achris]

It's to make sure the spacer doesn't sit proud anywhere, to keep it aligned. If you have ever tried to put a bearing pack back in the housing with the spacer sitting out a few 10s of thou on one side, you'll know why they suggest using a big hose clamp... If you don't have a big hose clamp and want to do the set-up without it, good luck, getting that spacer EXACTLY right is not easy, and I've done the job a few times ....

Chris.....

 

[nola mike]

I used the hose clamp, but had a hard time keeping it from slipping, IIRC. I was also wondering it's purpose. I've got 2 seasons on the drive since then...